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The voice of East Africa: the East African Medical Journal at its 75th anniversary
TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYALSOCIETYOFTROPICALMEDICINEANDHYGIENE(1998)92,685-686 nals of the New York Academy of Science, 6942 16-233. Perry, K. R., Brown, D. W. G., Parry, J. V., Panday, S., Pipkin, C. & Richards, A. (1993). Detection of measles, mumps and rubella antibodies in saliva using antibody capture radioimmunoassay. Journal ofMedicalVirology, 40,235240. Ramsay, M. E., Brugha, R., Brown, D. W. G., Cohen, B. & Miller, E. (1998). Salivary diagnosis of rubella: a study of notified cases in the United Kingdom, 199 l-4. Epidemiology and Infection, 120, 3 13-3 19. Robertson, S. E., Cutts, ET., Samuel, R. & Diaz-Ortega, J.-L. (1997). Control of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in developing countries: a global review. Part II. Vaccination against rubella. Bulletin of thelWorld Health Organiza-
The voice of East Africa: the Easf African Medical Journal at its 75th anniversary Mary J. Dobsonl*, Maureen Malowanyl, Kenneth OmbongiV and Robert W. Snow34 1Wellcome Unit for the History of M ed’acme, 45-47 Banbury Road, Universin, of Oxford. Oxford OX2 6PE. UK: ZFitzwilliam Colleie, a i?&ti&don Road, U&versiti of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 ODG, UK;3KEMRIlWellcome Trust Collaborative Programme, I? 0. Box 43640, Nairobi, Kenya; 4Department of Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK Keywords:
malaria, history, literature,
East Africa, Kenya
Seventy-five years ago the first issue of what became the East African Medical Journal (EAMJ) was published in Kenya. Founded in 1923 as the Monthly Journal of the I
for correspondence
685
tion, 1.5, 69-80. Shamebo, D., Sandstrom, A., Muhe, L., Freij, L., Krantz, I., Lonberg, G. &Wall, S. (1993). A nested case-referent study of under-five mortality and its public health determinants. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 71, 389-396. Vyse, A. J., Knowles, W. A., Cohen, B. J. & Brown, D. W. G. (1997). Detection of antibody to Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen in saliva by antibody capture radioimmunoassay. Journal of Virological Methods, 63, 93-l 01. Received 2 June 1998; revised 28 August publication 1 September 1998
1998; accepted for
working in the field could share, exchange and highlight issues of major significance within the East African environment. In 1932 the EAMJ became the official regional journal for all East African branches of the British Medical Association. Medical officers, scientists, clinicians and medical missionaries in the British colonies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (formerly German East Africa)-often working in remote parts of the region with little day-to-day contact with other members of the medical fraternity-benefited from the journal’s widespread distribution. It offered the opportunity to submit articles of local curiosity, as well as those of deeper scientific significance. To this day, in spite of the proliferation of new and highly specialized journals (apnearing almost bv the week). the EAMTs nosition as a pionee: and regional journal has remained unchallenged. Notwithstanding this regional emphasis, the EAMJ has over the past 75 years presented to its readership articles of international significance. As part of a larger project on the history of malaria and its control in East Africa, we have produced an audit of all 299 articles and editorials on malaria, published from the journal’s inception to the present day (OMBONGI et al., in press). Of particular interest, our review shows that many of today’s concerns, debates and recommendations for the control or treatment of malaria in East Africa were discussed and debated in earlier volumes. As early as 1954, Avery-Jones and Clyde published in the EAMJ observations on antimalarial drug resistance during trials of pyrimethamine in hyperendemic communities of East Africa (AVERY-TONES, 1954; CLYDE, 1954). In the same year, P.C.“C. Garnham’s paper on malaria in the East African child highlighted the enormous and critical need to study immunity in infancy and early childhood (GARNHAM, 1954). Issues aired in the EAMir, including key articles by leading malariologists, have resonances for current debates about impregnated bednets, intervention and the risks of delayed mortality, and the development of antimalarial drug resistance. There is much in these historical papers to enlighten and influence our current and future understanding of malaria control (MALOWANY et al., in press). With the advent of independence of the East African countries in the early 196Os, the Kenya Medical Association inherited and continues publication of the EAMY. Contributions from Kenyan authors have been significant. reaching 58% bv the earlv 1980s (LORE. 1990). Special issues-on topics as diverse as ageing and antimicrobial drug resistance continue to inspire and inform (ANONYMOUS, 1997a; ANONYMOUS,1997b). Someof the major malaria conferences and debates, on the other hand, have not been included in recent issues of the EAMJ. Whereas the League of Nations’ recommendations for malaria control of the 1920s and the WHO Kampala Conference of 1950 on Malaria in Equatorial Africa received critical attention from editors-and researchers alike in the EAM7 (ANONYMOUS, 1928; HALL, 1951), neither the Ross centenary of 1997 nor the international malaria meetings of Amsterdam (The
MARY J. DOBSON
686
ETAL.
Medical Journal, 74( 10). Anonymous (199713). Special Issue on: ‘Antimicrobial Drug Resistance’. East African MedicalJournal, 74(3). Avery-Jones, S. (1954). Resistance of I? falciparum and P malark to pyrimethamine (“Daraprim”) following mass treatment with this drug. A preliminary note. East African MedicalJournal, 31,4749. Clyde, D. F. (1954). Observations on monthly pyrimethamine (“Daraprim”). East African MedicalJournal, 31,4146. Garnham, I? C. C. (1954). Malaria in the African child. East African MedicalJournal, 31, 155-159. Hall, J. H. (19 5 1). Opening address of the Malaria Conference in Equatorial Africa Sponsored by the World Health Organization and the Commission for Technical Co-Operation in Africa South of the Sahara. East Africa Medical Journal, 28,
Netherlands) in 1992 and Dakar (Senegal) in 1997 have received mention. At a time when malaria in East Africa, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, continues to be the single largest cause of death, topics of critical importance for malaria research and policy still need voicing in the journal. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the EAMJ, we celebrate its uninterrupted publication and take this opportunity to acknowledge the value of this regional journal. Just as it set out 75 years ago to provide a venue for discussions of those “essential facts” about diseases in East Africa which are “collected here, on the spot”, so we are reminded by its current Editor-in-Chief, Professor W. Lore, that the ‘bright’ future of the EAMJ lies in continuing its role as a forum for debate on health issues, a source of educational material for health workers 1926; Inand a guide for policy makers (ANONYMOUS, terview with Professor Lore, 1997).
80-89.
Acknowledgements This paper is published with the permission of the Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMFU). This investigation received financial support from the Wellcome Trust, UK (Grant #050417) and KEMRI. Bob Snow is supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of their Senior Fellowships Programme in Basic Sciences (#033340). References Anonymous (1923). Clinical notes. Kenya Medical Journal, 1, 1-2. Anonymous (1926). Editorial. Kenya MedicalJournal, 2, 275. Anonymous (1928). Report of the Meeting of the Malaria Commission at Geneva, June 25th-29th, 1928. Kenya and East African MedicalJournal, $285-295. Anonymous (1997a). Special Issue on: ‘Ageing’. East African
Lore, W. (1990). Relative contribution of Kenyan authors to the East African Medical Journal during the period 1978-1987. Medicus, 9, 3-11. Malowany, M., Dobson, M. J. & Snow, R. W. (in press). Malaria control in East Africa: the Kampala Conference and the Pare-Taveta Scheme: a meeting of common and highground. Parassitologia. Ombongi, K. S., Dobson, M., Malowany, M. & Snow, R. W. (in press). The East African Medical Journal: its history and contribution to regional malaria research during the past 75 years. East African MedicalJournal, suppplement. Ross, R. (1897). On some peculiar pigmented cells found in two mosquitoes fed on malarial blood. British Medical Journal, ii, 1786-1788. Sequeira, J. H. (1932). 1832-1932. The Presidential Address delivered at the Centenary Meeting of the East African Branches of the British Medical Association. East African Medical Journal, 9,2 18. Received 20 August tember 1998
1998; accepted for publication
3 Sep-
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Publication
from
Tropical
Health
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District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries, part 1 (454 pp.) is now published by Tropical Health Technology. Replacing the previous publication Medical Laboratory Manualfor Tropical Countries, this new book (also by Monica Cheesbrough) is an up-to-date practical bench manual, illustrated in colour and black and white. It includes a parasitology section and also chapters on the staffing, quality management and health and safety of district laboratories, equipment and ordering, clinical chemistry investigations, and the preparation of a training curriculum for district laboratory personnel. The book can be obtained from Tropical Health Technology, 14 Bevills Close, Doddington, March, PE15 OTT, UK at the reduced price to developing countries of AlO. for surface post or El9.00 for airmail. The normal price is A33.00, inclusive of airmail or first class letter post. Payment must accompany the order. Part 2, which will include microbiological techniques, haematological tests and blood transfusion laboratory investigations, is due for publication in mid 1999.
Low
Priced
Publications
from
Tropical
Health
Technology
Students and medical workers from developing countries can purchase medical books and laboratory learning aids from Tropical Health Technology at reduced prices, including the new editions of: Manson’s Tropical Diseases, 20th edition Color Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 4th edition Lecture Notes on Tropical Medicine, 4th edition. Also available are other up to date textbooks covering tropical paediatrics, epidemiology, cardiology, nursing, midwifery, laboratory sciences, and solar energy. Training materials include laminated colour photomicrographs with text covering the microscopical diagnosis of tropical disease. A publications list with prices (inclusive of postage) and order form can be obtained from Tropical Health Technology, 14 Bevills Close, Doddington, March, PE15 OTT, UK; fax: +44 (0) 1354 740 013, phone: +44 (0)1354 740 825.
The voice of East Africa: the Easf African Medical Journal at its 75th anniversary Mary J. Dobsonl*, Maureen Malowanyl, Kenneth OmbongiV and Robert W. Snow34 1Wellcome Unit for the History of M ed’acme, 45-47 Banbury Road, Universin, of Oxford. Oxford OX2 6PE. UK: ZFitzwilliam Colleie, a i?&ti&don Road, U&versiti of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 ODG, UK;3KEMRIlWellcome Trust Collaborative Programme, I? 0. Box 43640, Nairobi, Kenya; 4Department of Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK Keywords:
malaria, history, literature,
East Africa, Kenya
Seventy-five years ago the first issue of what became the East African Medical Journal (EAMJ) was published in Kenya. Founded in 1923 as the Monthly Journal of the I
for correspondence
685
tion, 1.5, 69-80. Shamebo, D., Sandstrom, A., Muhe, L., Freij, L., Krantz, I., Lonberg, G. &Wall, S. (1993). A nested case-referent study of under-five mortality and its public health determinants. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 71, 389-396. Vyse, A. J., Knowles, W. A., Cohen, B. J. & Brown, D. W. G. (1997). Detection of antibody to Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen in saliva by antibody capture radioimmunoassay. Journal of Virological Methods, 63, 93-l 01. Received 2 June 1998; revised 28 August publication 1 September 1998
1998; accepted for
working in the field could share, exchange and highlight issues of major significance within the East African environment. In 1932 the EAMJ became the official regional journal for all East African branches of the British Medical Association. Medical officers, scientists, clinicians and medical missionaries in the British colonies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (formerly German East Africa)-often working in remote parts of the region with little day-to-day contact with other members of the medical fraternity-benefited from the journal’s widespread distribution. It offered the opportunity to submit articles of local curiosity, as well as those of deeper scientific significance. To this day, in spite of the proliferation of new and highly specialized journals (apnearing almost bv the week). the EAMTs nosition as a pionee: and regional journal has remained unchallenged. Notwithstanding this regional emphasis, the EAMJ has over the past 75 years presented to its readership articles of international significance. As part of a larger project on the history of malaria and its control in East Africa, we have produced an audit of all 299 articles and editorials on malaria, published from the journal’s inception to the present day (OMBONGI et al., in press). Of particular interest, our review shows that many of today’s concerns, debates and recommendations for the control or treatment of malaria in East Africa were discussed and debated in earlier volumes. As early as 1954, Avery-Jones and Clyde published in the EAMJ observations on antimalarial drug resistance during trials of pyrimethamine in hyperendemic communities of East Africa (AVERY-TONES, 1954; CLYDE, 1954). In the same year, P.C.“C. Garnham’s paper on malaria in the East African child highlighted the enormous and critical need to study immunity in infancy and early childhood (GARNHAM, 1954). Issues aired in the EAMir, including key articles by leading malariologists, have resonances for current debates about impregnated bednets, intervention and the risks of delayed mortality, and the development of antimalarial drug resistance. There is much in these historical papers to enlighten and influence our current and future understanding of malaria control (MALOWANY et al., in press). With the advent of independence of the East African countries in the early 196Os, the Kenya Medical Association inherited and continues publication of the EAMY. Contributions from Kenyan authors have been significant. reaching 58% bv the earlv 1980s (LORE. 1990). Special issues-on topics as diverse as ageing and antimicrobial drug resistance continue to inspire and inform (ANONYMOUS, 1997a; ANONYMOUS,1997b). Someof the major malaria conferences and debates, on the other hand, have not been included in recent issues of the EAMJ. Whereas the League of Nations’ recommendations for malaria control of the 1920s and the WHO Kampala Conference of 1950 on Malaria in Equatorial Africa received critical attention from editors-and researchers alike in the EAM7 (ANONYMOUS, 1928; HALL, 1951), neither the Ross centenary of 1997 nor the international malaria meetings of Amsterdam (The
MARY J. DOBSON
686
ETAL.
Medical Journal, 74( 10). Anonymous (199713). Special Issue on: ‘Antimicrobial Drug Resistance’. East African MedicalJournal, 74(3). Avery-Jones, S. (1954). Resistance of I? falciparum and P malark to pyrimethamine (“Daraprim”) following mass treatment with this drug. A preliminary note. East African MedicalJournal, 31,4749. Clyde, D. F. (1954). Observations on monthly pyrimethamine (“Daraprim”). East African MedicalJournal, 31,4146. Garnham, I? C. C. (1954). Malaria in the African child. East African MedicalJournal, 31, 155-159. Hall, J. H. (19 5 1). Opening address of the Malaria Conference in Equatorial Africa Sponsored by the World Health Organization and the Commission for Technical Co-Operation in Africa South of the Sahara. East Africa Medical Journal, 28,
Netherlands) in 1992 and Dakar (Senegal) in 1997 have received mention. At a time when malaria in East Africa, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, continues to be the single largest cause of death, topics of critical importance for malaria research and policy still need voicing in the journal. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the EAMJ, we celebrate its uninterrupted publication and take this opportunity to acknowledge the value of this regional journal. Just as it set out 75 years ago to provide a venue for discussions of those “essential facts” about diseases in East Africa which are “collected here, on the spot”, so we are reminded by its current Editor-in-Chief, Professor W. Lore, that the ‘bright’ future of the EAMJ lies in continuing its role as a forum for debate on health issues, a source of educational material for health workers 1926; Inand a guide for policy makers (ANONYMOUS, terview with Professor Lore, 1997).
80-89.
Acknowledgements This paper is published with the permission of the Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMFU). This investigation received financial support from the Wellcome Trust, UK (Grant #050417) and KEMRI. Bob Snow is supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of their Senior Fellowships Programme in Basic Sciences (#033340). References Anonymous (1923). Clinical notes. Kenya Medical Journal, 1, 1-2. Anonymous (1926). Editorial. Kenya MedicalJournal, 2, 275. Anonymous (1928). Report of the Meeting of the Malaria Commission at Geneva, June 25th-29th, 1928. Kenya and East African MedicalJournal, $285-295. Anonymous (1997a). Special Issue on: ‘Ageing’. East African
Lore, W. (1990). Relative contribution of Kenyan authors to the East African Medical Journal during the period 1978-1987. Medicus, 9, 3-11. Malowany, M., Dobson, M. J. & Snow, R. W. (in press). Malaria control in East Africa: the Kampala Conference and the Pare-Taveta Scheme: a meeting of common and highground. Parassitologia. Ombongi, K. S., Dobson, M., Malowany, M. & Snow, R. W. (in press). The East African Medical Journal: its history and contribution to regional malaria research during the past 75 years. East African MedicalJournal, suppplement. Ross, R. (1897). On some peculiar pigmented cells found in two mosquitoes fed on malarial blood. British Medical Journal, ii, 1786-1788. Sequeira, J. H. (1932). 1832-1932. The Presidential Address delivered at the Centenary Meeting of the East African Branches of the British Medical Association. East African Medical Journal, 9,2 18. Received 20 August tember 1998
1998; accepted for publication
3 Sep-
/Announcements New
Publication
from
Tropical
Health
Technology
District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries, part 1 (454 pp.) is now published by Tropical Health Technology. Replacing the previous publication Medical Laboratory Manualfor Tropical Countries, this new book (also by Monica Cheesbrough) is an up-to-date practical bench manual, illustrated in colour and black and white. It includes a parasitology section and also chapters on the staffing, quality management and health and safety of district laboratories, equipment and ordering, clinical chemistry investigations, and the preparation of a training curriculum for district laboratory personnel. The book can be obtained from Tropical Health Technology, 14 Bevills Close, Doddington, March, PE15 OTT, UK at the reduced price to developing countries of AlO. for surface post or El9.00 for airmail. The normal price is A33.00, inclusive of airmail or first class letter post. Payment must accompany the order. Part 2, which will include microbiological techniques, haematological tests and blood transfusion laboratory investigations, is due for publication in mid 1999.
Low
Priced
Publications
from
Tropical
Health
Technology
Students and medical workers from developing countries can purchase medical books and laboratory learning aids from Tropical Health Technology at reduced prices, including the new editions of: Manson’s Tropical Diseases, 20th edition Color Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 4th edition Lecture Notes on Tropical Medicine, 4th edition. Also available are other up to date textbooks covering tropical paediatrics, epidemiology, cardiology, nursing, midwifery, laboratory sciences, and solar energy. Training materials include laminated colour photomicrographs with text covering the microscopical diagnosis of tropical disease. A publications list with prices (inclusive of postage) and order form can be obtained from Tropical Health Technology, 14 Bevills Close, Doddington, March, PE15 OTT, UK; fax: +44 (0) 1354 740 013, phone: +44 (0)1354 740 825.